Nathaniel woke up with a groan, holding his throbbing head. What had hit him? The last thing he remembered was running away from something before getting knocked out. He should really start learning to look around when he run in the woods, it might just save him a migraine or two.

Opening his eyes was a mistake, the light making him close them in pain. It felt like someone had turned on the brightest mode of a powerful flashlight, if said flashlight was aimed directly into his eyes. He could still hear and feel his surroundings though, the floor a cold metal sheet with the walls being made of the same materials just with holes in it. He was confused until he heard the sound of hooves, what in the?..

The realization of having been hunted by those ponies flared up in his mind, making his headache even worse. The human had been hunted by those mini horses, trying to save Blaze, only to then be knocked out. It could only mean one thing, he was captured. That was not a great thing to wrap your mind around as he immediately opened his eyes, the light not as bad this time, and saw that he indeed was in a cage.

"What the fuck? Hey! Hey LET ME OUT!" Nathaniel yelled and punched the hole covered wall.

The same second his fist made contact with the flat surface a blue shimmer covered it like some sort of shield. He was about to question it before recognizing the energy, magic. Of course the cage had extra protection in the form of a magical force field, it was almost like they wanted to keep him in there.

He tried to kick on one of the cage walls which had light leaking in from it's edges, meaning it was probably the door. It did the same thing, a blue shimmer covering the surface and stopping any contact with the metal cage. It was an annoying problem as the floor and roof shared the same enchantment.

In the end he gave up and leaned against the cold wall behind him, the rays of sunlight coming through the breathing holes lightning up the dark cage. A sigh escaped his lips as white mist, the cold wind suddenly blowing through the caves making him shiver. His black coat of wolf fur was nowhere to be seen, they did know he needed that to survive right? Or maybe they just wanted him to suffer.

The sudden noise of whining next to him brought him out of his thoughts and he looked through the holes next to him, spotting the blue eyes of Blaze. The happiness he felt for seeing the pup alive and well washed away when he saw the wolf clawing at the metal box just for its claws to meet the blue shimmer.

Blaze sat in his own smaller box next to Nathaniel's, whining sadly as he couldn't get to his owner. The human could just barely see the wolf's eye through a hole in the small box that that was aligned with a hole in his own larger cage. It made him feel anger as he watched the pup mewl in sadness when it couldn't get to him.

After a while Nathaniel couldn't stand it anymore and crossed his legs, taking a meditate position as he took a mental grip of the magical flow in his body. He could feel Blaze right next to him and the he could "see" the cart that was used to carry them towards the unknown destination.

The human could feel the signs of life around him, Blaze being recognized because of how much time the wolf had spent next to him in earlier meditate sessions. He could feel a pony on top of his cage, this one special for some reason as it stood out from the rest. It was a smaller pony, or at least he assumed it was a pony, and it's magical signature seemed to give him the sensation of.. hunger?

From what he could tell there was fifteen ponies around the cart, two of which seemed to be pulling it. They were still in the woods as he could feel the trees around him but as they had no problem getting through the forest he assumed they were on a path. He could feel the cold that the air carried both on his body and through the magic in the air, or at least he assumed it was magic in the air, it acted almost like invisible spoors. It was there and stuck to you while reacting with the world around it.

But the most confusing discovery of his meditation session was the fact that there was actually sixteen ponies around him. The reason he had missed the sixteenth before was because Nathaniel had assumed it was the sun, the bright glow from the creature leaking through the cage.

This pony was taller then the rest, even if it was not by a lot. It seemed to be carrying something long with a bent angel at one end on its back, possibly the thing he had been hit with? Curse that.. what was it really? The young man couldn't really come up with a good name for it. It seemed to have wings on its sides but a horn sticking out from its head. If you added on the bright magic signature one could assume this was a powerful being.

The picture his mind painted for him as his magic searched the surrounding area was that of a grey pony-ish shape that had a horn and wings. It probably had colour in real life but from what he could gather it could only have one name, pegacorn. Sure, it sounded silly. But he was being kidnapped by a bunch of ponies, so silly was the new normal.

"Could you get off my cage? You're blocking the mental image of the sun" Nathaniel said calmly to the pony on the cage who yelped and jumped down the open area next to the human's box cage.

"You can see me? Those holes shouldn't be showing you too much" A female voice muttered as a pair of big red eyes stared into one of the holes to his left.

"Your magic makes you stand out. Most of the others are the same with the exception of one who speaks of anger and another that speaks of power" He said biding his time.

They had refused to answer to his angry screams, so a calm voice and knowing some secret information might get them to speak with him. If they didn't decide he was to scary and just end him in this cage. He could see it actually, the ponies just throwing the cage off a cliff because he creeped them out. The thought was just slightly amusing (or was he finally going mad? Took his brain a while).

"Y-You can feel our magic?.." The voice asked as Nathaniel could feel her sit down next to the cage, her wings not made from feathers, his mental image made them look more like leather.

"Yeah I can. Give me enough time to focus and I can pick all of you up" The young man said and the pony next to his cage gasped, if it was in fascination or horror was uncertain.

Of course it was a lie, he couldn't pick them all up, something like that would knock him out if he even tried. But the ponies didn't need to know that. All they needed to know was that he could hurt them, he needed them to stand back a bit if his escape plan was gonna work.

"So what made me stand out?" The mare asked and Nathaniel could sense a set of keys hanging from her side.

"Your hunger" The human replied as a soft green glow slowly enveloped the keys hanging from her flank.

Nathaniel had to be careful, he needed her to keep her focus on him if he was to get those keys. Yet that meant feeding her information or stories, which he could do. Who cares if this random bat pony thing knew about his meditation, as long as he could get himself and Blaze out of there he wouldn't care.

"Oh, well I guess I haven't eaten today" The sanguine mare said as the keys were slowly unattached from her belt.

'Yeah, keep chatting with the prisoner. He'll soon gonna tear you a new one for hurting his friend' He grumbled in his mind.

Blaze was just sitting in his own little cage and he eyed the human's box, wondering why there was waves of magic coming off him. The wolf pup's confusion was picked up by a certain princess and in a split second the keys were pulled out of Nathaniel's magical grasp.

He opened his eyes and cursed as the mare next to him scrambled away to be lectured by a drill-sergeant kind of dude. It didn't really matter to Nathaniel, he had failed to get himself and the wolf out of the ponies grasp. It made his heart sink and he dropped his calm posture as he started to beat on the cage in anger.

"Fuck you! Let me out! I didn't do anything to any of yo..!" The young man started only for the cage to suddenly make a beeping sound.

He didn't understand what it was at first before the entire box suddenly lit up and small lightning bolts hit him from all directions. Nathaniel screamed in pain as he was shocked, Blaze howling and trying to get to him in a panic as his screams filled the road they traveled on.

It stopped fairly quickly but his mind was fog by then, trying to cling to consciousness as he could hear angry shouts from all around him. He got up from the metal sheet ground and panted as he held his bare arms that now held burns from whatever spell that had been. Yet he could only feel one thing at that moment he had tried to push away the same second he woke up, fear.

This was different then the fear of death by starvation, this was fear for what they might do to him. This was fear for the pain they might inflict on him and the wolf pup. This fear gripped his heart more than his anger for being taken from his camp and attacked. It burrowed into his mind and made him think about all the ways they could break him.

Nathaniel ended up pulling his knees to his chest and fighting back the tears. He was just a kid, he never wanted this. Why had they grabbed him? Why had they attacked him? Was all of this because he lived too close to their village or something? He could move! The human just didn't want the shocks to start up again.

Princess Luna's POV

I walked behind the group of royal guards that bad been sent to pick up the beast. I knew that they would be more calm now when we were almost back at the castle grounds, many of them already planning for the next time they could see their families and loved ones.

Yet the best sign of showing that the group had relaxed was lieutenant Rose laying on top of our prisoners cage, without a care in the world as she fluffed up her already thick fur to combat the snowflakes falling from the sky. I giggled as she unconsciously started to swat after them with her wings, already enjoying the young sanguine's presence.

When I looked up on the sky I could see some clouds breaking up, leaving us with rays of sunlight warming our frozen bodies. The sight was beautiful and I had to give Tia some praise later for letting the sun break through the Everfree clouds. There was not many things that affected the Everfree forest after Discord had rampaged through the country.

It was at this point the creature woke up, our caravan of sixteen all hearing the groans coming from the cage. It seems I hit him to hard with my scythe, I would have to apologize later when we were sure he wouldn't hurt any of our subjects. The small group that had made it from the wolves' cave had been sure he was gonna try to eat them, but I wondered.

"Hey! Hey let me out!" I could hear the creature yell, but I ignored it for now, my orders clear.

Major Fury was still with our group sadly, walking next to the brown wagon that was being pulled along on the white marble road. The spell placed on the stone made sure to melt any snow landing on it, making it very wet at some places but still visible.

The tall trees that surrounded us swayed in the wind, making me shudder slightly. I really hope all the fireplaces in the castle were still will be burning when we get home, I needed a bath and a good book after being out here for over a week. This creature had covered its tracks pretty well, yet with the help of Rose and Osiris we had found him in the end.

I looked back at the caravan, five ponies on each side walking next to the wagon as it was flanked by me. With the two guards pulling the wagon along we only had three guards at the front, out of which one was Osiris. The brown gold stallion limped along, at times our medic (who was now completely dressed in her light armor) helping him stand. The wolf had fought well.

Speaking of the wolf, it was howling and yipping at the creature's cage, low murmurs being heard from inside before our prisoner slammed its fist into the enchanted walls of the cage. After many strikes and kicks he finally gave up and I relaxed, only to feel a huge burst of magic flare up into the air.

Looking at the cage I could feel the power from within. It was restrained, unfocused and untrained. Yet power like that spoke of great potential, potential that the wild had shaped so far. I knew how self taught mages were the most powerful and dangerous of their kind. They could use magic just as easy as breathing, but often lacked the skill to utilize this talent.

As the minutes went on the focus of the creature went to all of us, seemingly looking through the guards and me by manipulating the raw mana in the air. The amount of patience someone had to have to achieve something like that was impressive, I was lost in my observations before spotting Lieutenant Rose jump of the cage with a confused look.

A conversation was started between the prisoner and the sanguine mare, the pony sitting there and listening to whatever the creature was saying with interest. This seemed to indicate our prisoner was smart enough to stop his attempts at breaking out, or maybe he just feared what we would do if he continued.

It was then I noticed it, a split second too late, Rose's keys being pulled towards the cage. A green aurora was surrounding them, so he could use simple spells as well then? If he had learned all of this on his own we might have to put him in the dimitrium cell just to make sure he didn't unlock anything with magic.

My own fascination of the bold creature was disturbed as the keys were suddenly surrounded in a red glow and pulled away from the hole in the cage they were threatening to disappear into. Not that it would have worked, the barrier would have stopped the keys before they could reach our prisoner's hands.

Major Fury yelled up a storm at the bat pony mare who covered from his rage before the creature once again lost its composure, hitting the cage and yelling at us all. This was enough to make the older stallion light up his horn, a blue gem on the cage's front door glowing and making a soft ding sound in return.

I threw myself at the cage as the screams began, the stallion having turned on the shock spell at the highest power it would go. As I ran towards the cage the guards were in shocked silence, all of their ears pressed against their heads as the screams of pain continued.

I let my scythe's blade drag on the ground for a second before deliver an uppercut strike to the gem, splitting it in half and ending the spell. I agreed that trying to steal the keys deserved some sort of punishment but that had been enough to kill a pony! I was gonna have to force Celestia into firing him, it didn't matter how good of a mage or commanding officer he was.

The wolf had been howling non stop as our prisoner had been electrocuted, but now it was just whimpering and pawing at the wall of its cage. It was a sad display and I wanted to let it out, but considering how it had injured Osiris the pup would most likely do it again if released.

"Major Fury, thou are relived of thee duty. Thou will return to Celestia and explain what happened here. We will know if thee have lied" I said and my blue eyes flashed yellow for a second, making the stallion back off before huffing and teleporting.

The castle was close enough for teleportation, which meant we would soon be back inside the warm comfort of home. It could only hope that the crying creature we had captured would calm down, so far he seemed to less of a threat than Major Fury, but so did Discord all those years ago.

Clearing my head from sad memories I soon saw the great walls around the castle rise up from the ground. The black and grey castle not reflecting all the colours and life inside. A smile touched my lips as we soon reached the gates and were let into the courtyard, leaving the woods behind.

Lieutenant Rose was talking very softly with our prisoner, slowly calming him down as we soon got the cages into the castle. The warmth that washed over me made me sigh in pleasure as my frozen bones could finally stop being so damn tense. I wanted to order the maids to fill a bathtub with hot water now, but we had to clear up this situation first. I just hoped that we could end this without anyone else getting hurt.

~Nathaniel's POV~

As he was carried to the castle with Blaze whining next to him he couldn't help but cry. The human was terrified of them starting up the electric shocks again. It had been the most painful thing in his life and any false calm he had built up was gone. He just wanted to survive, could he please be allowed to return to his camp?

When the mare he had spoken to earlier spoke calming things to him it had helped a little, stopping his crying but not his fear. Maybe one of them would take pity on him and let him go. Nathaniel just wanted them to at least release Blaze, the wolf pup hadn't done anything wrong.

When the cage door opened he waited for many minutes before finally getting out from the tiny prison. There was around twenty ponies around him now, out of two he recognized. One was the bat pony mare, as he could now see her wings, and the other was the pony he had felt raw power from.

The dark blue pony had a very weird mane and tail, the things swaying in a nonexistent breeze. Her rich blue eyes carried a hint of sympathy and pity, she seemed to be like the other mare. If two showed him some compassion maybe he wasn't that fucked.

"We have been sent by our sister to collect thee, thou has proven to be a possible threat for our people" She told him and he just looked at her, his green eyes glowing softly.

'They threw a knife at me, knocked me out and shocked me because I was a possible threat!? Oh fuck you!' He thought and growled.

"The princess will judge what happens to you. If you're lucky we can send you back" The sanguine mare told Nathaniel, bearing a smile that just screamed of 'I'm sorry'.

The other guards gave the bat pony a look that made her stop her attempts at comforting him, making her back off to stand next to the blue pegacorn. It was a good thing he was surrounded by armed guards, he was not thinking about doing happy things to these ponies at the moment.

"Yeah.. Thanks.." The human growled and raised his hand to fire a blast of magic, he needed to retaliate somehow.

In his anger of being abducted he didn't react fast enough at the ring suddenly appearing at his finger, making him loose his mental grip of the magic. It scared him even more as he jumped back and tried to pull it off to no avail. So it wasn't enough with attacking him, they needed to steal his magic as well. He was getting more and more scared and angry.

"Please don't try that again, we will have to attack you if you lash out against the princess" The bat pony said and Nathaniel looked the blue pony.

'Princess? Crap, if they see me enough of a threat to send royalty I'm in an even worse situation than before' The young man grumbled in his head before being turned to a pair of great doors that was behind him.

"Our sister will judge thee now" The blue pony princess said and opened the doors with magic, her horn glowing a bright blue.

There on a throne sat a pony who would most likely almost reach his height while standing. Her rainbow coloured mane and tail drifted in a ghost breeze like the other one's tail and mane. Her dark pink eyes was focused in a glare, studying him closely as he was lead into the room. Her large white body made the throne she sat on seem small in comparison.

The blue pegacorn flew up next to her and sat down on a black throne next to the other's white one. Both of them radiated power and if he hadn't been so afraid he might have bowed. Now when he was cornered he didn't have any half snarky remarks or bravery left. As he looked at the one that would judge him for a crime he didn't know he had committed he could only feel despair.

Princess Celestia's POV

I was having a bad day. So far the nobles had been droning on about some extra ballroom they wanted build in the new city we had raised from the mountains. I had denied them those dreams quickly before dismissing every noble in the room. They were getting on my nerves today. Normally at least some of them had good suggestions but most of the rational ones were over seas, discussing trade with the zebras.

When the news came that the beast had been captured I was overjoyed. Finally something was going right. It had been two months since the first reports came in about the creature and I had spent a lot of time and resources on catching it. If it was a threat to my subjects I would deal with it accordingly.

Yet as the information was given to me (the first one to do so being a very angry Major Fury) my confidence in what to do was slowly being challenged. The beast could be a great threat if it knew magic, but what even scared me more about what could happen was when I was told it was a carnivore.

Even thought the gryphons where friends it was hard to say that anyone could be accepting of them eating meat. I normally had some prepared for the gryphon ambassador whenever he visited as a curtsy, but we had to get special chefs just to cook it. It was unnatural for most sentient creatures to eat meat, which often meant a meat eater was a mindless beast.

But from what I was told the thing could speak, even if it was mostly curses and fear filled statements. It troubled me that the prisoner had trained a wild wolf to guard his camp. From Osiris reports the little pup had attacked him before he could get close to the new creature's hut.

It was also the fact that the beast had tried to steal the keys to the cage. If the spell hadn't been up and if Major Fury hadn't noticed it the creature would be free now. Trying to resist arrest was a crime for all in Equestria, and so was attacking the royal guard. Fury had told me about how the creature had blasted one of his mages, adding assault to the list of things.

Yes it was true that they were sent there to collect him, but I had ordered them to only use force if necessary, which seemed to be the case as Lieutenant Rose had said the creature had been carrying weapons at the time. The Major had acted out of necessity to protect his squad and called for an attack.

While I could see the side of the red stallion's story I was still angry over him injuring the wolf, the animal being nothing than a mere pup. If it hadn't been for it's breed it would be dead, and Major Fury would be facing my full wrath over killing the wolf cub. No one in my guard would hurt innocents, beast or pony, under my guidance.

I let out a sigh as I thought about the creature being shocked, ever since than only speaking a few words. I disagreed highly with Fury's decision and would force him to take a few days off. He had always been a compulsive stallion but his anger could blind him at times.

It was a shame really, he had always been a good military leader and powerful mage. But as he had openly defied my orders by injuring the creature more than needed I had to show what would happen if you tried to break your vow. I would have a stern talk to the major later, said stallion standing next to my throne, awaiting the creature's arrival.

He had rose up through the ranks in the wake of Discord's defeat, calling for the destruction of the statue that was now Discord. I had refused him and others who were out for blood against the petrified spirit, even if the thought of crushing the statue came to mind a few times. But in the end I let it simply stand in the garden, as a warning to those who would dare to injure my subjects. Luna would have never forgiven me if I had killed him either way, neither would I for that matter.

Some of the fear and dread I was feeling over this creature was not because of anything I've heard from the reports, but rather lingering fear and a need to protect my subjects from the unknown. Discord's sudden madness had made me watch my back twice for weeks, even after he had been put in stone. His mad reign lasted only for two months but it had been enough to scar the populace.

Starswirl befriending Scorpan had been a lucky twist of faith for me and my sister, the gargoyle prince telling us in time about what his brother was planning for our nation. Locking him away had been hard, the self proclaimed lord having enough power to fend us off for a good time before the elements finally placed him in tartarus.

With the two wrongdoers gone it should have put my mind at ease. But the only one that could do that was frozen in solid rock. I was more worried these days for my nation than ever before. Luna still had a love for combat and happily traveled out to resolve conflicts while I had to stay here and run my kingdom. It was a very stress filled thing to do but I did it none the less, my advisors helping me.

Major Fury's help had been a great relief, his tactical talent helping me deal with bandits on the road much quicker than before. His suggestions on closing our borders for the time being didn't sit well with me though, his own fear over a Discord like incident happening again clouding him for the overall picture. Yes we could close our borders and build a grand military to face any threat to the nation, but in doing so the other countries would grow weary, and I would not deal with a possible war.

As the last reports on the creature was given to me I wondered what I should do. Luna seemed to think the being mostly harmless, but she would gladly have a manticore as pet, so what she saw as harmless might not be the same to normal ponies. Major Fury wanted the creature thrown into Tartarus so we could be rid of it, a decision born from fear over the unknown (something I could understand, this thing was a hairless ape?).

As I read over the crimes the being had committed I wondered more and more what I should do. It had hunted without permission for a half a year (if that rock was to be believed), hurt one of my combat mages, hurt a scout through a trained attack wolf, attempted to steal keys from a lunar guard, used magic in attempt to steal keys which in itself is a crime and while not a crime he had manipulated Lieutenant Rose to get the keys (it hinted at more sinister parts of its mind).

Deciding that I could choose its fate once it stood in front of me I nodded mentally to Luna who opened the door. The being walked in, looking terrified as it spotted me. The two thrones in the room stood out from the grey and green walls, making me and my sister's position of power even more showing.

The golden banner above my head almost glowed as I let my magical power radiate around the room, the guards bowing as Luna got to her own light blue throne and sat down. The blue banner above her head seemed to glow in power like mine as we looked down on the creature.

"You stand accused of several crimes, what do you have to say in your defense?" I asked, not even bothering with the noble speech, this was not the time.

The being stood there for many seconds in absolute confusion before finally looking at me. His eyes seemed to show how stressed he was, his hands clenching and opening themselves before wiping of sweat on the clothes he was wearing. Why had he such garments anyway, they looked uncomfortable to wear.

Was this creature that was showing such magical potential according to my sister. It seemed to be terrified of everything in the room. But then again, power didn't lie in the looks. Discord looked harmless but could shatter reality at will, so judging a book by it's cover was not the right approach here.

After a long time without saying nothing it finally gathered some courage and looked up from the spot on the floor it had been eyeing. I awaited what it would say, so did all the guards in the room to be honest. Even Luna leaned over her throne to hear what it would say much more clearly.

"My name is Nathaniel, and I want to know what crimes I have committed" It said, biting back a growl.

There was some fight in the creature after all. The anger was mixed in with the fear, making me think of a cornered predator, just waiting to lash put on anyone getting close. But then again it was a cornered predator, a magic wielding one at that.

"You stand accused of for hunting the creatures of the forest without permission. You stand accused of for having trained a wolf attacking others. You stand accused of for attacking a royal guard. You stand accused of theft, abuse of magic and attempted breakout. You stand accused of for resisting arrest" I said coldly, never letting the glare I now held leave my eyes.

"W-What!? Of course I tried to break out! You attacked me! You kidnapped me! I was doing great on my own before you showed up!" He snarled at me and Major Fury growled.

"Had you not drawn weapon first there would not had been any use of violence" I said calmly and watched the prisoner fum in anger, his fear all but gone.

"I hunt to survive! I need the meat to live! You fucking idiots just came out from the trees and almost killed me! You almost killed Blaze you fucking pieces of shi..!!!" He started yelling at us only for Major Fury to hit him in the stomach with the pommel of a spear.

"Be quiet you freak of nature" The stallion growled, the creature letting out a wheeze of pain.

"I've seen enough for now. Have him in a cell until I can decide what to do with him" I told the guards who pulled away the snarling and screaming being.

"Sister, I thought you wanted to judge him now" Luna said and I nodded with a sigh.

"I need to gather my thoughts. He can be a great danger to our ponies Lulu, but at the same time I don't know if throwing him in the dungeons is the right thing. I just want to keep our subjects safe sister, if it's between them and this being I will choose them" I told her and she nodded slowly.

"He didn't attack first. I was ordered to incapacitate him" The sanguine mare next to Luna said and she looked at Major Fury with anger, me following suit.

"That beast is a threat! It can use magic in strange ways! It probably has the Lieutenant under some sort of spell" Fury said and I shook my head.

I had also kept the Major around for his family ties, his son now leading the crystal empire after it broke free from our borders during Discord's reign. His influence over his son was limited but it was enough for him to be worth having sticking around. Yet if he was gonna disobey direct orders and hurt anyone he thought deserved it he was done as a Major.

"Major Fury. You are dismissed. Be glad I will allow you to stay in our military and guard after such an act of defiance. You will now bear the rank of Second Lieutenant and you will no longer be reporting to me" I said coldly, the red unicorn standing there with his mouth open for a moment before walking up to me, Luna tensing.

"You will regret this princess" He spat before walking away, leaving the room with a huff.

"Finally. I thought you would never get rid of him" Luna said and I could only nod in agreement.

"This does not make me less weary of the creature however" I said and Lulu looked at me with pleading eyes.

"If you are going to throw him in the dungeons then what will that make us look like? There is another way for you to keep track of him without having to be throw him down there with the scum of Eques" She said to me and I looked at her with confusion.

"Tell me, what should I do then?" I asked her and she soon told me her solution, getting a reluctant nod out of me.

"I'll see to it that the wolf is brought to the east wing in the meantime. Sometimes you have very good ideas sister" I said and she smirked at me.

"Sometimes?" She asked and I gave her a teasing smile before leaving the throne room, making all guards salute.

Nathaniel's POV

Well he was completely fucked. Not only had he been thrown into a dungeon for dumb reasons but he had no idea how to remove these damn magic canceling rings! Why had he saved those ponies!? Now he was gonna rot in some prison because he maybe was dangerous.

The cell itself was a cramped space, built for ponies or creatures their size, he had to bend his back whenever he stood up to not hit his head. The small cell didn't have a window, leaving it and the small bed in the corner in shadows. The only thing that wasn't completely dark was the door, a torch outside glowing with red fire. There was a small opening in the cell's granite door covered with metal spikes, making sure no one could reach out.

Even if he was having a bad time he hoped Blaze was ok. If the wolf got more hurt because of his own stupid mistake he would never forgive himself. Nathaniel had asked and asked for the pup but the guards walking along the cave like hallway outside ignored him, similarly as they did with the rest of the prisoners.

The human was about to cry again, he hated feeling this week and exposed but fear was the clearest emotion his brain could grasp now among the confusion on how quickly his normal life had gone wrong. He had just been living in the woods with the wolf pup, just hunting to stay alive. Now he was in a dungeon because he had used self-defense, life just hated him today.

"I have a proposal for you" A regal feminine voice suddenly spoke out and the young man turned to the cell door.

There the blue pegacorn stood in all her glory, her eyes watching him like a cat would watch its prey. He gulped at first, trying to calm himself before speaking. This pony had helped kidnap him, but had shown him some sort of compassion, so maybe, just maybe, she could help him.

"What would that be? Wasn't it enough throwing me in here?" He hissed out, already regretting his choice of words.

Under the fear there was anger, for being attacked, for seeing them attack Blaze, being accused of crimes he had technically committed but hadn't known he was committing. To keep all that rage from boiling over was very hard, but he would manage, kind off.

"You can either sit here and accept my sisters unfair punishment, or you can come with me and become a servant here in the castle" The pegacorn said with a smile.

"..What?" Nathaniel said after a long time of just staring at the pony princess behind the granite door.

"We cannot let you go after realizing how powerful you truly are, both me and Celestia agrees that you could possibly hurt our subjects" She said and Nathaniel was about to interrupt her when she raised her hoof.

"Let me finish. I cannot have you down here though, knowing that all your pain comes from the orders of a hotheaded idiot I was supervising" The pony mare said as the door were opened.

"If you agree then you will be allowed to see the wolf cub again, I assure you he is fine. I can also promise you a room at the castle with a fireplace, meaning you won't have to freeze. I will also get rid of the magic prohibitory horn rings from your fingers, giving back your magic" The mare continued and Nathaniel was feeling hope, his eyes looking at the light behind her.

If this meant he would be free he was forced to do so. He couldn't leave Blaze to these ponies and he couldn't really get anywhere from this cage. If he agreed and became their servant (why did he think slave fit better?..) then he wouldn't have to worry about the incoming snowstorms or surviving the night.

"However, if you hurt one of our subjects we will send you back into this cell, no discussion. We will also place a spell on you, a spell used to shock whoever it's bound to. A safe way to know if you ever prove dangerous to our populace that we can subdue you" The pegacorn mare told him.

"I accept" Nathaniel said after a long time, deciding it was the best course of action.

This mare was throwing him a life line, he would use it. If he didn't then he was stuck here, and he really didn't want to be stuck here. The screams of the other prisoners was making him mad and the cold cell was slowly giving him frostbites. He just loved Mondays and all they entailed.

"Splendid. We are sorry for the mistreatment you have suffered. Major Fury did not like your presence and gave the order to attack you" She told him and he nodded in response, thinking about how to best nail a pony in the shoulder with a throwing knife.

"The Major has lost his title and privileges as a punishment for not following my sister's orders. I hope that makes you feel a little better" The princess stated and he nodded slowly.

'My shoulder still hurts though..' Nathaniel grumbled in his mind as he followed the pony up a sudden spiral staircase that rose up from the dungeons.

He followed her for a long time before being met by the sight of Blaze sitting, bound to a heavy set of armor. The human rushed up to the wolf and wrapped his arms around the animal, making it howl happily and lick his face madly, trying to be as friendly as possible.

The armor stood next to a door that was big enough for him to walk through it standing up, the door itself was now labelled with with the rune he had on his right hand. So they had been planning this? The young man couldn't really understand if he should be punching them or thanking them for being given a room.

"Good, you accepted" A voice said and he was immediately on his feet, looking at the face of the white pegacorn.

"We will place the spell on you shortly. I need to make sure nothing threatens my little ponies" She said seriously and he bit down a grin at the cheesy phrase.

"Just don't put me back in there. I'll gladly follow along as long as you don't send guards on me again.." Nathaniel muttered.

The rainbow maned mare nodded slowly and lit her horn, the rings fell from his fingers and he could feel a mental grip of his magic again. He was about to cheer when he suddenly felt weird, like someone was dragging a feather along his arms. The answer to his question of why he felt weird was answered when he saw yellow, two dimensional magical chains wrap around his arms, from wrist to elbow.

"What is this?" The human said and tried to shake it off like it was some kind of liquid.

"State your full name" The white mare said and he looked confused for a second.

"I don't care much for my last name, Nathaniel is what I go by" He said, trying to act calm while the chains flouted above his skin.

"Nathaniel Sol then. I gave you the name Sol to show you I am sorry for the pain you were put through" The princess started and he looked at her with interest.

"The spell allows me to shock you if necessary however, and trust me, if you hurt anyone of my subjects I will. I don't trust you, so that name is all you get." She said before walking off, her voice having carried a hint of malice.

"I want you to take an oath as well, so repeat after me" The dark blue mare told him.

The oath almost seemed to carry magical power when the princess spoke it. It made his bones feel brittle and his head light. Yet despite that the boy said the words, making sure to look the mare in the eyes as he did so. There was a strange feeling in his chest after saying those words, but he couldn't quite understand what that feeling was.

"This room is yours now. Come find me in the morning, I will have to show you many things" The dark blue pony princess said before walking off the same direction as her sister.

Now Nathaniel was tired, very tired. He had a rough day and needed the rest. The human could care about the fact that the blue pony didn't speak like she had before, it had reminded him of a Shakespeare if he was gonna be honest. He could also care about the fact that he had been stabbed, been sent flying, knocked out, shocked and sent to prison in one day. But he needed a bed, he needed time to process it all, slowly.

As he walked into the room he could say it was very scarce with furniture. A bed below the window to the left of him made Nathaniel happy while he saw an empty bookshelf to his right. The grey room was just square shaped with a little hallway for the door. There was a fireplace just opposite of the bed with a few pieces of wood burning in there, it warmed the room.

As he laid down on the bed he took notice on how Blaze laid down on a thick carpet by the fireplace, the wolf seeking the heat. After a day like this he needed that, falling asleep with a thousand questions and thoughts swirling around his head. He just hoped that he wouldn't be a servant for a very long time.

Author's Notes:

There! 7600 words! So much words, so little sleep! But in all honesty thanks for reading the chapter, now I just gonna get it edited.